Thursday, April 30, 2009

Sony Pictures and the creators of Knocked Up and Superbad are taking you back to where it all began in the hilarious comedy YEAR ONE starring Jack Black and Michael Cera.

After eating from the Tree of Knowledge, primitive villager and reputed slacker Zed (Jack Black) begins to question the meaning of life. His new enlightenment puts him at odds with his village and he is forced to flee. Reluctantly joined by his friend Oh (Michael Cera), we follow the two not-so-wise men on their epic journey as they stumble through the ancient world causing chaos of biblical proportions.

"The self-described Zodiac killer is blamed for at least five murders in 1968 and 1969. He was never caught and claims about his identity are a regular occurrence.

Many people believe he was Arthur Leigh Allen, a convicted child molester who died in 1992. The case inspired a hit film starring Jake Gyllenhaal in 2007, and the killings are said to have been the inspiration for the original Dirty Harry movie starring Clint Eastwood". Source: www.guardian.co.uk

"The Zodiac killer, it turns out, was a Jekyll and Hyde carpenter from Orange County who dragged his 7-year-old daughter along for thrills as he carried out his reign of carnage in the Bay Area 40 years ago. At least that's what the daughter, Deborah Perez, told reporters and a frenzied mob of Zodiac buffs Wednesday.

[...] Among the evidence Perez mentioned was a pair of brown, horn-rimmed eyeglasses she says her father took from Paul Stine, a cabbie shot on Oct. 11, 1969, in San Francisco. She said she is turning them over to the San Francisco Police Department, and that if the prescription fits Stine's or is linked to the Zodiac in any other way - such as through DNA - it will help prove her case. According to accounts of the crime, Stine's body was missing his eyeglasses when he was found.

She also said she hopes authorities can find DNA on the stamps of letters that the Zodiac sent and match them to herself or her father. The DNA from the Zodiac evidence, however, may not be reliable, investigators warn.

Of particular interest will be a letter written in December 1969 to Belli, who died in 1996. The letter, filled with erratic punctuation and misspellings, begins, "Dear Melvin This is the Zodiac speaking I wish you a happy Christmass. ... please help me."

Documentary in works

Privately, some investigators wondered if the timing of Perez's announcement - publicized by Hollywood PR agent Edward Lozzi, renowned for dating the late Anna Nicole Smith - had something to do with a documentary on her story that she is hoping to finish soon". Source: www.sfgate.com

"These are the cinematic visions that have shaped and sparked my own vision — first as a curator, and then as a filmmaker myself. It is fitting that the style of 575 Castro St. should match the style of the pioneering gay films that Harvey Milk helped to develop (in all the meanings of that word).

For me, the joy of my films is found in the poetry of the static image —in the experience of time passing on film, undistracted by plot, actors, dialogue and other narrative conventions. An internal drama is evoked in the sensitivities of each viewer who is open to the subtleties of these mundane shots that are almost bereft of movement and sound. So quiet, so still. All the better to showcase the range of emotions evoked by Harvey Milk’s words".Source: www.filminfocus.com

"The song "White As Snow" from U2's latest album No Line on the Horizon, has been called their most intimate song and is a hymnal to a soldier dying in Afghanistan. It was written specifically for "Brothers" (Sheridan and Bono - Irish brethren - have a long history together, including Bono co-penning songs from "In America" and "In The Name of The Father"), but the band decided to release it on their new record after the film's many delays. The Guardian U.K. calls it, "unadorned, evocative and suggestive. And you don't even have to know what it's about to feel its quiet power or sense its sadness." Presumably it'll be featured in the film's credits.

Update: Apparently there's another song in "Brothers" written by U2 during the Horizon sessions that hasn't been released yet called, "Winter". The track can evidently be heard on the short film directed by Anton Corbijn that accompanies the album in the digipack format".

"People special correspondent Julie Jordan announced the selections Wednesday on TODAY in New York. She also revealed the magazine’s choice for the Most Beautiful Person for 2009: actress Christina Applegate.Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, made People's annual 100 Most Beautiful List.ROBERT PATTINSONThe Twilight star, 22, says he doesn't quite understand his heartthrob status – or the fuss about his signature tousled do. "I don't get it. It's funny, you look the same for years and no one ever mentions it. Then suddenly it's a big deal."

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

"The first trailer for "Altitude", is now available and the film involves several shots of CGI. Jessica Lowndes star of "Autopsy", makes her way into this second horror film and his time the excitement takes places thousands of feet in the air.

After a mysterious malfunction sends their small plane climbing out of control, a rookie pilot and her four teenage friends find themselves in a showdown with a malevolent supernatural force".Cast: Jessica Lowndes, Ryan Donowho, Michelle Harrison, Landon Liboiron, Jake Weary, and Ryan Grantham.

Leonardo DiCaprio posing in Vanity Fair, May 2007."Walt Disney Studios is turning box-office cash from its nature documentary "Earth" into seed money to plant trees in the rain forest.

Disney had announced it would plant one tree in Brazil's endangered Atlantic rain forest for every viewer who saw the movie during its first week. According to Disney, the box-office tally hit $16.1 million, which translates to 2.7 million trees.The trees are being planted by the Nature Conservancy, which is trying to reforest 2.5 million acres in the rain forest."Earth" is narrated by James Earl Jones and follows a year in the lives of three families of polar bears, elephants and humpback whales". Source: news.yahoo.com

"Earth," the first feature-length nature documentary from its new production banner, Disneynature. This amazing new film is from award-winning British producer/director Alastair Fothergill, whose credits include the Emmy and Peabody award-winning "Planet Earth" series (BBC and The Discovery Channel) and "The Blue Planet."

Follows the epic migratory journeys of four animal families as well as the earth's journey around the sun and the massive influence it has on all life on the planet, from the Arctic spring to the Antarctic winter.

"Actor Sean Penn filed for “legal separation” from his wife Robin Wright Penn after 13 years of marriage Friday.

The couple are no stranger to break ups and make ups. Penn filed for divorce back in 2007, according to a report in Us magazine, but the petition was later dismissed. Just 3 days later, Wright Penn, 43, filed for divorce.

But in April of last year, the couple requested that authorities dismiss their petition.

It seemed the two Hollywood heavyweights were intent upon reconciling, even attending the Oscars together in February where Penn took home his second Academy Award for his performance in the film “Milk”.

Keira Knightley and James McAvoy Empire Magazine’s 20th Anniversary."JAMES MCAVOY could soon be a father - he and his actress wife ANNE-MARIE DUFF are hoping to start a family. The pair met on the set of U.K. TV comedy Shameless before falling in love and tying the knot in 2006.And now Duff, who lives in London with MCAvoy, is hoping to extend their family by becoming a first-time mother".Source: www.contactmusic.comDuff is clever, open and thinks carefully about every question you ask her. Except, that is, when you mention anything about McAvoy. What’s it like, living a relationship in the public eye, I venture. “I deal with it by not assuming it’s a relationship in the public eye. You just have to be a married couple.”Is it ever a worry when McAvoy, eight and a half years her junior, goes off to work with the likes of Angelina Jolie? “You have to trust each other. I’ve kissed plenty of handsome fellas in my work, too," she shoots back indignantly. Like who? “Well, Michael Caine, for one". Source: women.timesonline.co.uk

We have a new affiliate with Natalie-Portman.org, a very cool website devouted to the talented and beautiful actress Natalie Portman, one of the classiest women in the world. Thank you very much, Natasha!Natalie Portman and Christine Aylward Launch Web Portal MakingOf.com, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Entertainment Creation:"Co-founder Natalie Portman began acting at the age of 11 and has starred in more than 25 films. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in Mike Nichols' Closer. Portman will next be seen in Brothers, directed by Jim Sheridan. She recently made her writing and directorial debut with a short film for the anthology New York, I Love You. Portman also wrote and directed a short film, Eve, starring Lauren Bacall, Ben Gazzara and Olivia Thirlby that debuted at the 2008 Venice Film Festival. She is currently developing film projects through her recently formed production company, handsomecharlie films".Source: sev.prnewswire.com

Natalie Portman at The Apple Store Soho Presents Meet The FilmMaker.

"Variety reports that Natalie Portman and Brad Pitt will star in adaptation of Leanne Shapton's book, "Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion and Jewelry". It's a project that won't only merge their acting talents, but also their production houses -- both Handsomecharlie Films and Plan B will produce.Both Pitt and Portman are at their most charming when they're a little out of mainstream focus, whether that be as a head-bopping fitness nut in Burn After Reading, or a rapper on SNL. Together, with a story that's got some damned solid reviews, there's a lot of promise. Now I'm just hoping that Portman grabs Wes Anderson along for the ride -- a Royal Tennenbaums for a slightly different crowd". Source: www.cinematical.com

"The partnership comes as Lions Gate seeks to fend off advances by financier Carl Icahn, who has threatened to wage a proxy war and take control of the studio, and has criticized its purchase of the TV Guide cable channel.

The first movie to be released under the new agreement will be "Brothers", a drama due later this year from Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan starring Tobey Maguire,Tobey Maguire with Leonardo DiCaprio watching the NBA game, on 27th, 2009.Natalie Portman with Jake Gyllenhaal at the 9th Annual Kids for Kids Celebrity Carnival, on 28th April, 2002, New York City.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman. The film is about two brothers in love with the same woman".Source: uk.reuters.com